It eased him slightly to know that if things got too dangerous there was a quick way for her to get away, but he was still concerned.  But, it was her life and he really had no right to try and push the issue much further.  Not today at least.  Right now she was going to Abed first, so at least there would be sometime between then and her next outing.  Even though he was trying not to think of it that way, there was still a part of him that felt like she was his responsibility…holding an antidote for a handful of decades did that to a person.

He liked hearing her making plans for the future, picking up and advancing further with her life.  It was a comfort to know that she was healing mentally just as well as she was physically and he smiled at the thought of her exchanging stories of her adventures.  His lips parted, “Your sister is a bard to a deity…?”  He wasn’t sure why it hit him the way it did, after all: her sister was also daughter to one, but something about her being a bard for another one…?  

It wasn’t a bad thing, not by any means, just almost surreal.  Even that didn’t seem like the correct word for it.  To be honest he hardly kept up with the goings on of those chosen by The Tree, it was like another world.  He was glad that, so far at least, Holly and her mother didn’t feel that way to him.  For all of the reasons he had to be uncomfortable with them, surprisingly being part of deityhood was not one of them.

He smiled and gently waved his hand at her concerns for his health, “I assure you, if anything kills me it won’t be working.”  No, he knew exactly who it would be, the only person that was even capable of it due to the curse on his bloodline…It wasn’t a subject that he wanted to get into.   “But I am trying to find more time for myself, however…”  He sighed, though his smile grew, “Duty calls as always.  I assure you it’s nothing I cannot handle, but if it will put your mind at ease and keep you more cautious,” his eyebrows rose, mulling it over, “then fine.  For you.”

It was a bit hard to explain but she tried her best. "Calanthe always wanted to be of more use to my mother. We, her children, can't provide for our mother like most children would for their parents. Our mother doesn't age and she won't die unless the tree says it is time. We have no important roles in that aspect, so when opportunities arise often we ask for responsibilities. Calanthe asked to be useful so she was given to a God to lighten his halls with music. As far as I know they are happy. Even so much so that they are bedding each other. Calanthe has always had that way about her. Being able to draw men and make them happy just by talking."

Her hands moved to her hips as she gave him a smile. "It's nice to know that you are willing to put my anguish to rest like that. You are a good man Naota, never let anyone ever tell you otherwise." For a moment she paused before reaching into her kimono and pulling out her necklace. She had used kitsugi to make it whole again. She smiled at Naota. "I got mine fixed. It was too much of a shame just to let it remain as it was."

For some reason she couldn't let it go. She held it close to her almost too closely to the heart. She gave him a kind smile one that only he could say he got. "I'm going to miss you and your sister greatly when I leave. I imagine I won't see you again for a very long time."